Wall insulation in Compton CA - insulated walls with patches that are hard to spot
Rooms that stay hot all summer often have empty walls. We fill them through small holes and patch them so they're hard to spot.
Can you insulate walls without tearing them open?
Yes. Wall insulation in Compton is usually done by drill and fill. We drill small holes near the top of each wall cavity, blow insulation in until it's packed tight, then plug and patch the holes, so your walls stay up and your rooms hold their temperature better.
Most wall calls start with a room that runs hot all summer or a power bill that keeps climbing in a house where nobody ever filled the walls. The price mostly comes down to how much wall there is, which side we drill from, the material and how much we have to work around, like cabinets, tile or old wiring. The schedule turns on the same things, plus a permit if your job needs one. I usually take a look at the attic while I'm there too, and I go over what I found with you before you decide anything.
How we handle wall insulation in an existing house
First I find out how old the house is and what wiring runs through the walls, because that decides which side we drill from and whether a wall is ready to fill at all. Then our crew drills a small hole near the top of each cavity, the space between two studs, and fills it with blown-in insulation, which is loose fill blown through a hose. We dense-pack it, so it fills the whole cavity, doesn't settle down the wall later and slows the air moving through. When the walls are full, we plug the holes and patch them so they're hard to spot.
Filled walls do the most good when the leaks around them are closed too, so we often pair this job with air sealing services, which close the gaps the wall fill can't reach. If your house has a basement, those walls are a different job, and basement insulation covers them.
Drilling from inside the house
This suits most closed walls, because it leaves the water barrier behind your siding alone. Expect holes above door headers, above and below windows and behind cabinets on outside walls, and if a bathroom sits on an outside wall, a few tiles may need to come off first.
Drilling from outside
This can make sense when getting at the walls from inside is hard. It breaks the drainage plane, the water barrier such as house wrap behind the siding, so that barrier has to be patched or replaced before we close up.
Insulating when you re-side
If new siding is in your plans, that's the best time to insulate from outside, because the crew can check or reinstall the house wrap. It also opens the door to rigid foam boards outside the walls, either along with the cavity fill or in place of it.
Wall insulation permits and older homes in Compton
I'll tell you at the estimate whether your wall job needs a permit, and if it does, we handle the paperwork for you. Compton takes permits in person at City Hall only, Monday through Thursday, with nothing online, and every applicant needs a current city business license, which you can see on the city's permit page. That trip is ours to make.
A lot of the houses we work in around Compton are older, and that changes the job. If yours was built before 1980, lead safety rules come into play when work disturbs the walls inside or out, and how much wall we open decides how far those rules reach. That's one reason I ask the age first and keep the openings small. We're based in Compton and work in the cities around it, and we see the same older houses on jobs in Lynwood and Paramount.
What wall insulation looks like
Why call us for wall insulation
I write your estimate myself
I come out, look at your walls and write the estimate myself, and after our trained crew does the install, I check the work before we call it finished. You're dealing with the same person from the first look to the last patch.
Insulating Compton homes since 2013
I started this business right here in Compton in 2013, after years driving a delivery truck through these same streets. I learned the trade in my late thirties, so I explain what's in your walls the way I'd have wanted it explained to me.
We're licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters on wall work because we're drilling into the house you live in, not just laying insulation in an attic.
Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
Every wall job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. If the fill or the patches don't look right to you, I want to hear about it before we pack up.
When you're ready to find out what's in your walls, call (562) 232-8636 or send us a request, and I'll come out and take a look.
(562) 232-8636Get a wall insulation estimate for your house
We'll reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out, look at your walls and go over what I found with you. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation.
Wall insulation questions from Compton homeowners
How much does wall insulation cost in Compton, CA?
Blown-in insulation in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $3 to $9.50 per square foot. That's the going rate around here, not our price. Where your job lands depends on how much wall there is, which side we drill from, the material and how much patching the walls need, and you get your own number at the estimate.
How do I choose between cellulose and fiberglass for my walls?
Pick based on how wet that wall might ever get. Both work well dense-packed in closed walls, but cellulose breaks down if it gets soaked, while fiberglass is lighter and isn't ruined by water. If a wall has a history of leaks, I lean toward fiberglass, and I'll tell you what I see at the estimate.
When does wall insulation need a licensed contractor in California?
The state requires a contractor license whenever the work needs a permit of any kind, or whenever the person doing it hires even one helper. That holds even when the job is under $1,000. So nearly any crew that shows up to blow insulation into your walls should be licensed.
Will insulating my walls stop drafts in my house?
It helps, but it won't stop all of them. Dense-packed cellulose seals air inside the wall cavities, but it stays between the studs, so leaks at the rim joist, the framing where the house sits on the foundation, between floors and where the walls meet the roof stay open. We seal those separately when they're the problem.
Can you insulate walls that still have knob and tube wiring?
Not until the wiring is dealt with. The electrical code doesn't allow insulation applied to or surrounding knob and tube, the early wiring run on porcelain knobs, so those walls can't be filled as they are. That's why I check what's in the walls before we pick a side to drill from.
How long does it take to insulate the walls of a house?
It comes down to how much wall there is and how much we have to work around. A few rooms from inside go quicker than a whole house, and walls behind cabinets or tile take more care. I go over the plan with you at the estimate, including a permit if your job needs one.
Call about wall insulation for your house
Have the year your house was built and any re-siding plans handy, since both change which side we drill from.
